Tuesday, January 14, 2014

d12
1. Vast, yeti ghost-haunted cavern covered in obscene cave paintings allows access to Underworld via mystic doorway that must be constructed of enshrined cave bear skulls
2. Active ooze hive festers under the city, empties into nearby river/lake/sea, visited by famous sorcerer who departed atop perfectly obedient colossal pudding-steed
3. Death row convicts attempting escape tunnelled into unknown chamber, their dessicated corpses appeared on the courthouse steps at daybreak
4. Reasonably sane captain of the watch insists silver hatch appears beneath city wall only when in direct light of full moon, swears invisible things come out
5. Cult membership of the God of Plenty make fortnightly journey to underground complex in adjacent wilderness under the cover of night, never speak of it to outsiders
6. Unpleasant music emanates from farmer's recently dug well
7. Prince's pyramid project halted by lack of shipments from new quarry, trusted captain dispatched to investigate w/soldiery, not a peep
8. Sorcerer's griffin-borne aerial survey detects huge, ornately camouflaged mountain top chimney spewing forth weird gases
9. Rocket-shaped wizard's tower takes off, sub-surface floors left unattended, someone should at least strip the plumbing
10. Dragon moved in to proximate cavern not to plague the land in fulfillment of dire prophecy as is the prevailing wisdom, but rather to jealously guard secret entrance to antediluvian culture's treasure vaults
11. The Fetid Sewers of the Ancients drain into another world
12. War-gangs of ogres and mixed-humanoid lackeys loot frontier towns seemingly emboldened by smart attire, beautifully crafted garments/armor, chaotic evil chic, shields emblazoned with device of the Tailor Below

Jeff Russell of the Blessings of the Dice Gods blog has, out of the immeasurable kindness of his heart, begun to create a linked index of Dungeon Dozen entries, broken down into helpful categories.
This is the kind of work that I'd rather throw myself down a flight of stairs than tackle, being both insanely busy right now and innately lazy, so I am in his debt.

Friday, January 3, 2014

d12
1. Spirits of cavemen, kicked out of afterlife after hostile takeover of their Celestial Plains by more sophisticated modern deities, drum, chant, make a racket, subject slick city dwellers to obscene verbal abuse
2. Ghost of wizard, combusted spontaneously after unexpected arcane energy surge but suspects treachery, assumes adventurers are royal investigators and is quite prepared to give a full statement
3. Disembodied psyches of sentient slime creatures from the dawn of time ooze about mournfully, gurgle pathetically, hurl impotent threats in their untranslatable language of flatulence
4. Spelunker's soul remains stuck in tight crevice, thought he could free himself by lopping off limb, bled to death, still calls out for assistance
5. Spectral torchbearer eaten by giant lobster (long since deceased) swims around subterranean pool keeping watch over his bones and scaring the hell out of passersby
6. Ghosts of dishonored vikings, barred from entry to Valhalla, joylessly sing a mead-hall tune while trying to spruce up the place
7. Angry spirits of the earthbound dead cluster here, awaiting some kind of ghostly messiah to lead them on a tour of vengeance upon the living, standing room only
8. Spectre of UFO pilot refuses to acknowledge responsibility for own demise after disastrous attempt at cavern navigation, fragments of space-metal hull scattered about, cave walls, floors, ceiling show evidence of super-heated explosion
9. Phantasmal kings whose thrones were usurped by lusty barbarians over the ages cluster around a table-like rock talking about the old days and fomenting vengeance upon all rural, muscular, sword-wielding, sandal-clad conquerors
10. Apparition of hill giant, lured into eating a pie full of poison by thieves, rejected for afterlife service by wicked deity for supreme stupidity, mutters about tricky adventurers and things like "fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice..uh..me can't get fooled again..."
11. Gaggle of incorporeal executed intellectuals, subject of a imperial purge many years ago, seem perfectly content to chew the fat with anyone other than each other, ask leading questions, play devil's advocate just to sustain the conversation
12. Ghostly presence of murdered Dungeon Overlord more than willing to reveal location of former dominion and many of the secrets therein, if only the PCs would make a blood-pact to destroy his traitorous successor

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

d12
1. Humanoids staying w/cousins nearby, all portable wealth removed, monster husbandry expert stays back to release the watch puddings
2. Hired horde of lesser humanoids use guerrilla tactics to harass and deplete party while still en route to dungeon, paid upfront w/treasures formerly up for grabs on level one
3. Fake beards distributed, objects of open evil hidden, humanoids pretend to be clan of industrious dwarfs
4. Entrances festooned with tripwires, pressure plates, hastily covered pits and holes, barbed projectiles protrude from door slits, precariously balanced buckets totter over doorways, a huge pain in the ass
5. Main dungeon entrance rigged for lethal collapse, suicide trooper on duty, other entrances under heavy guard
6. Gas masks distributed (w/strategic exclusions, esp. that owlbear), level magically flooded with deadly vapors, tribe now permanently in debt to sorcerer from below
7. Wandering sorcerer employed to create hallucinatory terrain, misdirects adventurers to cave lair of terrible abomination they probably can't handle, sorcerer does terrific work, slaves haul all humanoid treasures back to tower
8. Sub-overlord notified, trio of medusae from unknown third level take up guard position formerly occupied by relatively wimpy humanoid watch
9. Dungeon entrance slick w/oil, sentries ordered to apply torches only after majority of party enters flame zone, 4 in 6 chance of sentry over-excitement
10. Humanoids massed by entrances, worked up into a lather by non-stop chanting and imbibing of fortifying beverages, ready to encircle and annihilate the party before they even reach the door
11. Entrance unguarded, rooms empty but for comfy chairs and tables with open bottles of wine (2 in 6 chance of poison/bottle), humanoids bide time in secret hidey-holes beneath flooring
12. Humanoids get enormous Chinese New Year-style dragon puppet out of moth balls, rig smoke bombs/pyrotechnics, prepare to bedazzle, scare hell out of adventurers while archers do their work from concealment